GPS units--advice?

[Maia McGuire]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for recommendations for GPS units.  We are interested in
purchasing a handheld GPS for the education center at Harbor Branch
Oceanographic Institution and are considering several units manufactured
by Magellan and Garmin.  We are planning to purchase a differential to be
mounted on our pontoon boat, but there seem to be several of the handheld
units that are very similar in features but different in price...

Does anyone have experience with the Magellan 6000, Magellan ColorTRAK ,
Garmin GPS 12, Garmin GPS 12XL or Garmin GPS 48?  Any recommendations?
Any pros or cons of the various models?  They all appear to be similar in
the number of waypoints, etc...

Please respond to me at mmcguire at hboi.edu <mailto:mmcguire at hboi.edu> and
I'll post a summary on the list of the recommendations that are made.

Thanks

Maia McGuire

Assistant scientist/post-doc
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
5600 US 1 North
Ft. Pierce, FL 34946
561-465-2400 ext. 508